Monday, May 1, 2017

A little housekeeping first. One acerbic commenter left the following pointed observation here on The Tattler yesterday, and I thought it was worth airing it out a little. This has come up before, and now that I have so many peoples' attention, what better time?

The Pasadena Star-News hit an all-time new low today. First the intrepid Jimmy Olsen steals your story without credits then he refuses to name the lieutenant in question here. My guess is that Jimmy Olsen has been stroked by the former PIO and doesn't want to hurt a friend instead of writing the truth. What a rag!
While it is true this blog did scoop everyone else on this story, I can't get too upset about the lack of any recognition from the Star News. After all, I've cribbed from them in the past, and they have done some pretty good work from time to time. Though I do credit the PSN whenever I raid their paper for any info I use here. It seems only fair.

They also did finally mention Gourdikian's name. At least in the story's second edit, which appeared a couple of hours after their first version hit the PSN website. Which is a good thing. To do otherwise only helps to enable the Pasadena Police Department's cover-up of some pretty shocking malfeasance on the part of one of its senior officers.

An unfortunate precedent for that does exist. There is a fairly corrupt California state law that enables local governments to avoid revealing the identities of any employees they might be investigating. Obviously the hoary sachems of TheRotten Rose have used that to great advantage in covering this affair up. At least until now.

In my opinion news organizations should be doing all they can to expose any wrongdoing by our erstwhile public servants, especially when you consider the state law that allows them to conveniently hide any criminal behavior of their employees.

Playing along with this law is betraying the interests of their readers. People who, theoretically at least, are dependent upon newspapers for information. After all, public employees are vastly overcompensated, and those who make their fine lifestyles possible so horribly overtaxed.

That is, should these readers actually care. Remarkably, so very few really do. Which is also a part of the problem.

To their credit, the Star News did finally come around. Here is their final take.

In all fairness, and contrary to the message Pasadena Now is currently pushing, the starring role Lt. Vasken Gourdikian played in this affair was first revealed last February by the Pasadena Weekly. You can link to that here.

69 comments:

Forget about innocent until proven guilty, which is everyone's right, he hasn't been charged with anything. Journalism is about relaying facts to the public, not crucifying people by coming to unjustified conclusions. Notice how the list of weapons seized has no mention of anything illegal? But you don't care, because it's not you and it gets you hits on your blog and makes you feel important.

So let me get this straight. The Feds raid this guy's house, find several hundred thousand dollars worth of weapons, he gets suspended from the PD, yet nobody is allowed to talk about it because it is an improper and boastful attitude? Thank God not everyone is as gutless and emo as you apparently are.

Urban Dictionary:emo (adjective)When used as an adjective, emo generally refers to an individual who is either over-emotional or tends to exaggerate situations. For example, you may call someone emo for crying over something that really doesn't merit crying. However, it is good to use the word withcaution because it generally carries a negative connotation.Girl: Nobody loves me, my friends aren't really my friends, nobody cares about me, I'm all alone, I'm always so caring of other people and no one cares about me, I'm so selfless!!!!....etc.

Guilty of what? It's not a matter of being boastful, This is a human being with rights, and I realize you have freedom of speech, but there are consequences to using reckless words. You have become judge, jury and executioner and you haven't even heard the case. No one has even presented a case. That must make you clairvoyant, a time traveler, or omniscient. Either way it is reckless.

You have no vantage point for that statement. I have no idea how many criminals have bought guns from PPD officers and neither do you. But keep throwing unsubstantiated nonsense at me, maybe something might stick.

Ha! You are so far off base here it's almost funny. The guns described on the list are all high end purpose-built weapons. The assumption that they are being sold to criminals is baseless. When was that little tidbit disclosed? Let me guess, totally a product of your imagination? These are not the types of firearms commonly found on criminals. Be a little patient and wait to see where this goes.

How would you know they are not? Do you know who they were being sold to? Do unlicensed firearms salesmen working out of their garages do background checks? Does this business exist to get around state and federal laws? Were the weapons stolen from the Pasadena PD evidence locker? Again, because this guy gets special privacy considerations this is all speculation. Just like what you're putting out.

So you believe that there just happen to be six (6) identical Springfield Operator pistols in PPD's evidence? Four Sig Sauer 1911's? Those are both uncommon pistols. Speculation is one thing but the premise that they were stolen from evidence is beyond far fetched.

Who knows, Bobo? Again, because Vasken is in a special legal class none of this is known. If a regular civilian had been arrested for having a garage filled with weaponry, it would be all over the news. That is the problem with state ordered censorship, it causes distrust and rumors. But it is entertaining.

That's right, you don't get to hear the details yet. So, rather than letting your imagination run wild, rather than accusing this man of every sin in the calendar, just wait and see. Until then this is nothing more that gossip and wishful thinking.

Let the hounds lose and track all the guilty parties down, of course as other have mentioned other parties with in the Pasadena P.D. along with other police organizations may have to be brought in along with their illegal weapons stocks? Is it time to drain the swamp on this California dirty secret?

Journalism is dead.How many "illegal" weapons did the ATF really turn in? Who is keeping an eye on this branch of Law Enforcement? How can the public be assured that this independent Investigation was really on the level? Video's can be "doctored", lists of "items" may not be accurate. Reasons for the raid, may be politically motivated.

It isn't so much the legality of the weapons as it was the illegal sale of them by a rogue officer. Yesterday someone here suggested that these weapons were originally seized from criminals by the PPD, only to later be stolen by police officers from their own department for resale. Anyone know anything about that?

Comments from the Pasadena Politics Facebook page:1) In general, shame on criminals with badges that perpetuate crime by supplying criminals without bases with weapons.2) He should be charged with murder for any gun that came through him that killed someone.3) That's the problem with illegal guns. It's hard to trace them back to where they were purchased. That is exactly why he should be in jail already. Instead, this sick f*** is on a paid vacation on our dollar!4) True. That is f****d up. e the citizens he failed to live up to on his oath have to pay him not to do his job which he broke laws doing? But a brotha could be late to work because he's dealing with his kids trying to get them to school on time and get bored with review. Amerkkka.

Again, just a bunch of uninformed dumbasses. You can't sell a gun without an FFL, or a DROS. He was not accused of circumventing that, had he been, he would be in jail right now. Thus, whoever was sold a gun actually went through all background checks like anyone else, so once again your moronic rant is based on a fallacy, but again none of you care, because everyone else is crazy and they are all after your magic beans that you grow in the depths of the canyon.

Nobody knows what he has been accused of, or whether he was running background checks or any of the other crazy crap you're pushing here. The gutless browbeaten idiots who run Pasadena have put a complete clamp down on this case. Total radio silence. Just like they do when any of their millionaire employees break the law.

Censorship leads to speculation. The pussy politicians running Pasadena dare not even breath a word about this case for fear of retaliation from their municipal employee unions. So yes, under the circumstances it is understandable that people are trying to fill the vacuum.

8:49am. Finally, we are in agreement of Fast and Furious. Obama guilty as the sins he committed under the title "President".As for Hillary, she continues to be under investigation from this government, why else do you suspect she is keeping such a low profile?

If you were and cop and arrested gang type people you would not want your name out there. Before that protection went in law enforcement employs were threatened at home and there family also. Nothing like a call to the spouse saying don't let your cop go to work if you want to see them alive again.

to 2:28pm, no one has committed any crimes or he would have been arrested by now. It's an investigation. Per ATF memo, it seems that this is common practice and the ATF wants to educate and not embarrass. However, the media is doing their part to embarrass this poor guy. He seems like a hobbyist like many military & police guys

No, you completely missed the point. Police officers should be held to the same standards that apply to civilians. If you commit a crime, no special protections. Also, the notion that the ATF raided this guy's house to seize a couple of trucks of specialized weaponry was part of an educational effort is flat out looney toons. Go take a nap or something.

The thing is that it's pointless for the ATF to snatch all the guns in his garage, since he obviously bought them legally at some point (unless he didn't) and for him to be illegally selling things ... those guns can't be used as evidence since ... he didn't sell them.

But I'm guessing he did the old "buy off roster cause I'm a cop, but now you can buy it off me" thing. Good ol' roster ... making felons left and right.

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